One main difference between MOVE’s setup and traditional game consoles is that instead of using a gamepad or joystick to interact with the games, participants use their whole body. The various games would react to different gestures, such as running (CHASE), jumping (JUMP), waving one’s arm (COLLECT), flapping both arms (THROW), and so on.

Besides the unusual experience of seeing a projected circle on the floor following you as you run around (CHASE), it seems that a closer mapping of the expected user input with the output generated on screen leads to a more intuitive, satisfying sensation. Take the unmitigated success of games such as Nintendo’s Wii Tennis, where players wave their arms holding the Wiimote mimicking real-life tennis gestures in order to control their avatars on the virtual court.

The type of interaction required from participants is also simpler than the often complex button combination and hand-eye coordination required from traditional video games. Despite the fact that MOVE’s game modules are very punishing and players last only a few minutes, they often feel that they failed because of poor body coordination—the ability to jump, move, or react fast enough to prevent their on-screen avatar (usually a circle) from colliding with the incoming threat (usually another circle). This failure to act fast enough was viewed as something that could easily be overcome by repeated play, and failure led to less discouragement because moving one’s body is a more natural act than orchestrating a correct combination of button pushes with fingers on a gamepad.

Another important element that differentiates MOVE from games played on a console or in an arcade is the placing of the screen. Because the projection is on the floor, players are more engaged with the game environment. Since they don’t rely on the intermediary of a projected realistic avatar or sil-

houette mirroring their action on a vertical projection, there’s less perceived distance between the space for input and output. And as players are not looking at an avatar reacting to their movements, their sense of identification is altered, and their interaction—instead of going through a two-step process,

Black & White Camera

Projector

Infared Lamp

Computer

Floor Projection

 

• Figure 1b. MOVE uses a floor projection setup where presence and movements of participants are tracked using a camera.

May + June 2009